Spoiler-Free Review of “Dangerous Animals” in Theaters: A Bloody Good Time!

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“Welcome aboard…”

Dangerous Animals will release in theaters in the US on June 6th 2025 and on June 12th in Australia. The survival horror film stars Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heuston, and Ella Newton. It runs for approximately an hour and thirty-three minutes.

A shark obsessed serial killer holds a woman named Zephyr against her will. She must figure out a way to escape before he feeds her to his beloved sharks.

Here is the trailer:

Dangerous Animals gives us the perfect heart-pounding combination: a psycho serial killer and sharks. Is it worthy of YOUR next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Jai Courtney is BRILLIANT in this!

I was excited when I saw he was cast as the villain in this from the trailer and he did not disappoint! Wow! Think Wolf Creek’s Mick Taylor. He honestly could have been his son.

He was twisted, diabolical, and out of his mind, but he was also really entertaining to watch and elevated this film in so many ways for me.

He will definitely be a villain I remember! I loved every second of his performance!

A strong, resourceful female lead to root for.

I love a strong female lead…especially in films like this. Zephyr was such a cool character and it was very easy to cheer for her against all odds. She didn’t accept her circumstances. She was a “fighter” and I thought she was absolutely terrific!

Intense from start to finish!

This movie had a killer opening and it really kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I have seen countless shark movies over the years and this one was one of the best I have seen in a very long time. The serial killer angle certainly helped things, but there was also some great shark action!

The Cons:

I don’t have many…

This film was pretty close to perfect. While it may not be for everyone, it checked off every box for me. I love simple thrillers like this. My only con would be that maybe there was a touch too much fluff after the opening scene, but I really had to think of a con here.

I loved every second of this movie!

So am I in or out?

I’m in 100 percent!!!

Dangerous Animals is the shark movie I’ve been waiting for!

Think Wolf Creek, but with sharks. Jai Courtney as Tucker just became one of my favorite horror villains of all time!

I loved this movie so much and I can’t wait to watch it again and again!

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Dangerous Animals in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

CHECKING OUT WAS NEVER AN OPTION…

A weekend getaway goes horribly wrong when Charlotte suspects that a guest at her bed-and-breakfast has gone missing. A heart-pounding thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. We Hope You Enjoy Your Stay is available below! I hope you enjoy!

We Hope You Enjoy Your Stay is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “Fear Below” on Demand: A Solid Shark Flick

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“We’ll survive…we always do…”

Fear Below released on demand on May 2nd 2025. The Australian action horror film stars Hermione Corfield, Jacob Junior Nayinggul, Jake Ryan, and Arthur Angel. It runs for approximately an hour and twenty-five minutes.

Set in the 1940’s, a group of gangsters hire down on their luck divers to retrieve the gold they lost in a river, but when a bull shark hunts them down, the stakes become that much higher.

Here is the trailer:

Fear Below tries to do something different with the shark genre by changing up the time period to shake things up. Is it worthy of YOUR next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Abandons the cheesy CGI effects.

I’ve gotten really tired of seeing the silly CGI sharks so it was refreshing to see a film that didn’t rely on this. I initially thought they used real shark footage (that’s how realistic it was), but I recently learned it was a practical effect done on camera with minor digital enhancement. Either way, it looked a lot better than some of the recent shark films I’ve seen. This elevated the movie in a lot of ways for me. There were some really intense moments that had me on the edge of my seat as well.

The time period shift worked!

I didn’t know what I was about to witness after reading the description for this movie, but somehow gangsters in the 1940’s and sharks made the perfect combination! I love shark movies, but they’ve gotten very repetitive and stale over the years. The time period shift gave us something new and I appreciated it!

It was also really interesting seeing what divers used to go through back in those days, making this an informative watch as well.

The Cons:

Slower first half.

The second half really turned things up a notch, but the first half felt a little sluggish to me. Luckily this movie wasn’t that long. I enjoyed the setup, but I was anxious to get to the shark action.

The visibility underwater was poor as well, but I understand that went with what the characters were actually dealing with. Still, I was struggling to see during a few key parts.

So am I in or out?

I’m in!

Fear Below was a nice surprise, breathing new life into the shark genre once again.

I appreciated that they tried to do something different with this film. It was a refreshing change!

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Fear Below in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

CHECKING OUT WAS NEVER AN OPTION…

We Hope You Enjoy Your Stay is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “Into the Deep” (2025) on Demand: Richard Dreyfuss Stars in Another Shark Movie, but it’s no Jaws…

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“You’re not in your kingdom…”

Into the Deep (2025) released on Demand on January 24th 2025. The action thriller film stars Scout-Taylor Compton, Callum McGowan, Jon Seda, Stuart Townsend, and Richard Dreyfuss. It runs for approximately an hour and thirty minutes.

A group of criminals hold a boat of tourists hostage and force them to dive in shark-infested waters to retrieve their drugs.

Here is the trailer:

Into the Deep has a premise I’ve seen before with enough potential, but does it have enough shark action to be worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

A few standout performers!

I’m not sure why Richard Dreyfuss decided to appear in this movie, but his presence elevated it somewhat. It was great to see him playing another marine biologist, which gave us a touch of Jaws nostalgia.

Scout-Taylor Compton did a solid job with what she was given, but the rest of the characters in this were pretty forgettable.

The Cons:

Weak shark action.

I love shark films even if they’re terrible and cheesy, but this one had some awful CGI. None of the shark scenes were suspenseful. They were completely ridiculous and silly, which was beyond disappointing.

Cringe-worthy dialogue.

The plot in this one was OK. I’ve seen films like this before, but I would have been fine with the overdone plot if we had gotten some more bite here. It was really difficult to listen to some of that dialogue and the over-acting didn’t help matters.

So am I in or out?

Unfortunately I’m out on this one…

Into the Deep fails to make a splash despite having a film legend starring in it.

I was hoping for some solid shark action, but this film did not measure up in that department.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Into the Deep (2025) in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “The Last Breath” on Demand: Decent Shark Flick

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“We have to stick together…”

The Last Breath released on Demand on July 27th 2024. The survival horror thriller film stars Kim Spearman, Jack Parr, Alexander Arnold, and Julian Sands. It runs for approximately an hour and thirty-five minutes.

A group of old friends reunite and agree to go on a diving trip to explore a long lost WWII battleship, but they soon discover that they’re not alone, now surrounded by a group of great white sharks as their oxygen runs dangerously low.

Here is the trailer:

The Last Breath is far from perfect with terrible CGI and questionable decisions made by the characters, but it still manages to hold on to an entertaining level of intensity underwater. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Shot well underwater!

I was actually quite impressed by how well this film was shot underwater. I’ve seen other movies try the same thing and a lot of scenes end up really blurry. This one captured everything well.

There was a solid level of intensity once we got to the ship and I think the film did a good job of maintaining that until the very end. I was on the edge of my seat during a lot of key moments, making this a fun watch for fans of shark films.

Decent characters.

Usually I’m always rooting for the sharks, but a couple of the characters stood out here, which helped me invest in them more. I cared about what happened to a few of them, which isn’t always easy to accomplish. The friendships weren’t fleshed out completely, but I didn’t really need them to be. We got enough layers and info to figure out who to root for.

The Cons:

Terrible CGI!

Wow, the CGI on these sharks was awful. They zipped around in the water like they were on crack, which was far from believable. Even though there were a lot of intense moments in this one, I couldn’t take the sharks seriously. I think we could have done a little bit better in this department.

I also thought that we wasted too much time on unnecessary fluff in the first thirty minutes of the movie. Things improved drastically once the characters got to the dive, but it was a struggle before that.

So am I in or out?

I’m in about 75 percent…

The Last Breath is a solid shark film with enough bite for fans of the genre, but don’t expect anything too extraordinary here.

As long as you manage your expectations and accept that you’ll be witnessing some terrible CGI, you’ll have fun with this one.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts on The Last Breath in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “No Way Up” on Demand: B Shark Movie Has Some Moments with Bite

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“Don’t think about what can go wrong…”

No Way Up released on demand on February 16th 2024. The survival thriller film stars Sophie McIntosh, Phyllis Logan, Colm Meaney, Will Attenborough, and Jeremias Amoore. It runs for approximately an hour and thirty minutes.

After their plane crashes into the ocean, a group of survivors work together to escape some killer sharks.

Here is the trailer:

No Way Up attempts to give sharks a new space to invade, but is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Altitude Film Entertainment

Doesn’t take too long for things to happen.

I appreciated that there was minimal set-up in this one. There were some intense moments during the initial plane crash that actually captured my attention. I’m all for shark flicks and will continue to watch them no matter what the gimmick is.

Well, for this one, we’ve got sharks on a plane and I thought the concept was actually a lot of fun. This movie is from the same executive producers as 47 Meters Down and the thought alone of being trapped in a plane underneath the ocean with sharks swimming around is completely terrifying.

I don’t think this film had the same intensity as 47 Meters Down by any means, but there were some toothy moments sprinkled in for fans of cheesy shark films.

Our lead had some potential.

I don’t need too many character layers in shark flicks. We know the body count is going to be high and most often I am rooting for the shark to pick off annoying characters one by one, but I thought that our lead had a lot of potential and stood out from some of the other characters who felt very bland and one dimensional. I did find myself rooting for her, which helped me invest in this one a little more.

The stuffed animal was a scene stealer though…

The Cons:

Takes itself too seriously…

Look, I didn’t need for this film to make sense logically. I usually throw all reason out the window when I watch these films and I’m fine with it. However, it helps when films recognize their limitations and just go with it.

This film could have been a lot better if it would have had some more fun with things. Some of the moments felt very dragged out and since the acting wasn’t really that great from the majority of the performers, I didn’t care.

We also needed more shark action. I think this movie attempted to do a little bit too much when it could have just let our toothy friends shine.

So am I in or out?

I’m in about 75 percent…

No Way Up is far from perfect, but if you’re looking for a B shark movie to indulge in, there’s enough here to enjoy. Just manage your expectations accordingly…

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on No Way Up in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “Meg 2: The Trench” in Theaters: Nothing Can Stop Jason Statham on a Jet-Ski…

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“That’s the biggest Meg I’ve ever seen…”

Meg 2: The Trench released in theaters on August 4th 2023. The sci-fi thriller sequel stars Jason Statham, Sophia Cai, Wu Jing, Skyler Samuels, Sienna Guillory, Cliff Curtis, and Page Kennedy. It runs for approximately an hour and fifty-six minutes.

Jonas is back again to lead a research team on a dive in the deepest part of the ocean, but their lives are put in immediate danger when they wind up coming into contact with prehistoric sharks.

Here is the trailer:

Meg 2: The Trench takes a while to kick into gear, but once it embraces some campy chum-filled fun, it gives us enough entertaining moments. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The last forty-five minutes are a lot of fun!

The first half of the movie didn’t do much for me, but thankfully it found its groove and went with it. Was it far-fetched and ridiculous? Absolutely! But it was also a lot of fun and it’s hard not to root for Jason Statham taking on these “apex predators” in insane ways.

Returning characters add to the charm!

While not all of the surviving characters made an appearance in the sequel, enough of them did and they got more screen time this time around, which was great to see. We also got a few new characters who really held their own.

My all-time favorite character (I’m sure you can figure out who that is) stole the film once again, but that should come as no surprise!

The Cons:

The first half of the movie took itself way too seriously…

While not everyone enjoyed The Meg, I did because it was so campy and silly. I expected the same vibe this time around with the sequel, but the first half of the film focused too much energy on figuring out who the bad guy was with too much drama. It wasn’t awful, but it just didn’t feel like the sequel to The Meg. I almost felt like I was watching another movie.

It was predictable and uninspiring, but things did pick up eventually. I also think that some of the previews spoiled a lot…

So am I in or out?

I’m in!

Not as good as the first film and far from perfect, but Meg 2: The Trench gives us enough toothy fun moments in the second half, making this an entertaining watch for fans of the first movie.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Meg 2: The Trench in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

A VACATION TO DIE FOR…

When sisters, Nina and Gemma are vacationing in Hawaii with their friends, they get invited to an exclusive party on a private island that seems too good to be true. There’s only one rule…they can’t miss their ferry at midnight or they’ll have to wait until morning to leave the island. Only they didn’t realize that breaking this rule meant they would be hunted down on the island one by one.

Who will make it off the island alive?

I hope you enjoy my new island thriller!

Blood Rose Island is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “The Reef: Stalked” on Shudder: A Shark Addicted to Paddling

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“All we can do is paddle…”

The Reef: Stalked released on Shudder on July 29th 2022. The survival horror film stars Teressa Liane, Saskia Archer, Ann Truong, and Kate Lister. It runs for approximately an hour and thirty minutes.

A group of friends head out on kayaks for a relaxing day of diving and fun, but wind up stalked by a great white shark instead.

Here is the trailer:

The Reef: Stalked gives kayaks a whirl for our toothy friend, but does it do enough to earn a watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Some intense moments!

Some of the jump scares were a little much, but there were some really intense moments during this film when the shark was stalking these characters. I was on the edge of my seat and was genuinely terrified. The Reef is one of my favorite shark movies so I had very high hopes for this and I think it did deliver some nail-biting moments for sure.

Pretty scenery and a different approach.

I’m not sure where this one was shot, but I thought the scenery was absolutely beautiful. When the characters initially set out on their kayaks, I was thoroughly enjoying the views under and over the water.

I’ve seen close to every shark movie ever made and the formula has become very predictable, but still enjoyable. That being said, I thought that this film took a different approach with how these characters were ultimately going to stay alive while the shark was stalking them. It broke the formula a little bit, which was a plus for me.

The Cons:

Repetitive flashbacks and some crazy bad acting…

Our main character went through a trauma that is explained during the film. She repeatedly gets flashbacks of this (even though she didn’t technically witness it). I totally understood the parallels given her current situation, but I thought they really dragged these out.

There were also a few supporting characters that had laughable reactions to the shark. I enjoyed the main characters, but wow…

So am I in or out?

I’m in about 75 percent…

I’m always going to give any shark movie a try and I thoroughly enjoy this genre. There’s plenty to enjoy with this one, but I don’t think it did anything that extraordinary to set itself apart from similar films that have come out recently.

I’d recommend watching Shark Bait or Deep Blue Sea 3 first for a more entertaining ride. There’s still enough here to have fun with, but I would manage your expectations accordingly.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Reef: Stalked in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe. Thanks for your support!